Environmentalists across California have organized a series of colorful events Saturday to press for tough federal legislation and an international treaty to curb global warming. The participants are part of "an international day of action," with about 4,000 events in 170 countries at places including the Taj Mahal and the Eiffel Tower, according to 350.org, a group started by environmentalist Bill McKibben.

The banking giant Citigroup commanded a stock price of $55 just two years ago. But at one point Thursday, as markets hurtled to their lowest close in 12 years, the shares were worth less than an item at the Dollar Store. After months of breathtaking declines, this is what Wall Street has come to: Blue-chip companies, once considered safe investments and cornerstones of the economy, are akin to penny stocks.

The economy contracted at a staggering 6.2 percent pace at the end of 2008, the worst showing in a quarter-century, as consumers and businesses ratcheted back spending, plunging the country deeper into recession.
The Commerce Department report released Friday showed the economy sinking much faster than the 3.8 percent annualized drop for the October-December quarter first estimated by the government last month.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The commander in chief's priority is preventing another terrorist attack in the United States, President Bush told CNN's "Larry King Live" Tuesday.

"The most important job I have had -- and the most important job the next president is going to have -- is to protect the American people from another attack," Bush said.